Two police officers recently descended a flight of stairs in terror at Iminyela Flats in Iminyela suburb at the home of a traditional healer after an eerie voice thundered in their ears.
The two Criminal Investigations Department (CID) officers had been sent to arrest the traditional healer, Thamsanqa Mutisi (35), for allegedly cultivating marijuana in his backyard garden.
The incident occurred at the crack of dawn on 6 January 2023.
It is alleged that when the two detectives approached the witch doctor, there was a misunderstanding between the two parties.
The cops demanded that Mutisi should accompany them to the police station and he felt disrespected.
A neighbour who had been awoken by the noise told B-Metro that she witnessed the incident through a partially open door. She said:
Suddenly, Ukhulu (as Mutisi is popularly known) appeared to have gone into a trance.
His ancestors spoke through him in a deep rumbling voice that scared the pants off the policemen.
He waved his rod at them and the guttural voice told them lightning would strike them dead on the spot if they continued harassing Ukhulu.
The witness claimed that the police officers took to their heels and descended the stairs with haste. She said:
Like deflating balloons, they repeatedly bumped into each other in random and uncoordinated movement in a desperate attempt to get to the door.
With eyes popping in fear the cops squeezed through the door and flew down the steps.
I could hear them screaming piercingly as they shot down the stairs behind me. It is a miracle they did not fall down and get badly injured.
Once outside, they streaked away in different directions, probably to regroup at the police station after getting over the shock.
After a few hours, several police officers came to the traditional healer’s flat. Said another neighbour:
The new squad humbled themselves and respectfully asked Ukhulu for permission to arrest him.
He forwarded their request to his ancestral spirits, who granted the request.
It is further alleged that Mutisi then led the cops to three marijuana plants which were well maintained and measured 20 centimetres, 35 centimetres and 90 centimetres, respectively, in his garden.
The detectives uprooted the plants and took them to CID Drugs and Narcotics and took Mutisi to Western Commonage Police Station.
Mutisi appeared before Western Commonage Court resident magistrate shepherd Mnjanja facing a charge of planting dagga.
He pleaded guilty to the charge but said the plants belonged to his ancestors who had instructed him to grow them for healing purposes.
Mutasa, who is being represented by Tinashe Dzipe of Morris Davies and Co Law firm, was remanded out of custody to 18 January 2023 on $30 000 bail. | B-Metro